Blackbird Caye, Turneffe Atoll, Belize

Our research out of the Blackbird Caye field station of the Oceanic Society centers on the study of a population of resident coastal dolphins. In this site we concentrate on the use of technology to enhance our surveying ability, deploying aerial and marine unmanned vehicles (“drones”).The expansion into new technologies such as drones allows for collection of high quality data while minimizing the exposure of the animals to the research vessel. This data is also used to assess the anthropogenic impact of research surveys on animals of interest.